LG is making a comeback with their G Series Smartphones and this will bring back the excitement that the Cookie did just 6 years ago.

The best thing about smartphones manufactured by Asians is that they can load the phone with an insane amount of good stuff (that’s comparable to or even greater than US and EU-made phones) and still sell them at one third the price that Apple iPhones are being sold. But this time the Korea-based phone manufacturer dared to raise eyebrows when it plans to sell the G4 at around $800 – $1,000 which is surprisingly more expensive than the iPhone 6 and HTC One M9! However, they’ll give you a lot of the good stuff for the amount you’ll be paying, like upgraded screen and a more advanced camera, longer battery life, RAM, core processor speed and the new leather coating which is not available in any other phones.

The Design

Honestly, the leather back overlay for the LG G4 is kind of a step backwards, because you may get that nagging feeling that you’re purchasing a Louis Vuitton bag or boots instead of a smartphone; which is awkward – and that’s an understatement. Just wait ‘till it’s your turn to go shopping for this thing!

The huge 5.5-inch Quad HD display absolutely kills it! From the moment I touched the second-series prototype LG G4, I never wanted to put it down again and I even had this silent enthusiasm to ask the attendant if I could take it home with me, which was inappropriate and rude to a certain extent. Still, with all the emotions aside, there’s nothing NOT to like about the G4. It is as a premium brand quality as any other phone in the market!

The plastic, ceramic and metallic versions of the G4 is not so terrible, in fact, they are comparable to the other top mobile phone manufacturers. However, I have to say that HTC, Samsung and Apple does it slightly better. Keep up the good work LG, you’re almost there!

I think that the main goal of LG is ergonomics as that’s what I’ve concluded when handling the G4 smartphone. It feels easy and light to the touch compared to other smartphones out there. The battery is also better in two significant ways: 1) it packs more power than other phones at 3000mAh and, 2) it’s removable.

I actually prefer the removable battery design over the unibody chassis that other phone manufacturers have added to their latest design features. The point is Lithium-Ion batteries can only last so long and after using it for 8 months on, their power factor is reduced by 18% or more, depending on how often you use your phone. Replacing the old battery with a new one is one way to go, of course, you can also use two or more batteries in reserve to lessen the charging time.

Massive phones have become the trend nowadays and if you don’t have one of those in your pocket or shoulder bag, then you’re certainly the sorest person to ever walk this Earth. But the bulky and wide horizontal surface makes them unwieldy, so the designers came up with an ingenious idea – make the edges curved to compensate for ergonomics! And it worked. Even the designers at LG realized this fact and included it in the G4.

The G4 has neatly tucked away all of the inconvenient pesky keys on the back of the phone just below the 16 megapixels camera; while most phone manufacturers have these in the front and sides of their phones.

The Display

Okay, our contenders for the maximum resolution on their respective phones’ display starts with Apple iPhone 6 (750 x 1334 @ 326 ppi) which is the lowest among the 6th gen smartphones on the market. Next we have HTC One M9 (1080 x 1920 @ 441 ppi), then comes the other Korean-made Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (1440 x 2560 @ 557 ppi) which is more or less similar to the LG G4’s resolution [2560 x 1440 (Quad HD) @538 ppi].

The new Quantum IPS display on the LG G4 is probably the best I’ve ever seen to date, and I think it competes more with its homegrown rival, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge than Apple or other brands. I find the 5.5-inch display a bit difficult to navigate (makes you wish you had a stylus pen actually), but again, the screen will take your attention away from other inconveniences.

Deeper reds and brighter blues, that’s what’s mostly the QUAD HD does which means it has cinema quality images and videos. It should feel like blu-ray on a smartphone, yeah, that’s just how amazing this phone is. Apple had better watch its back, because Samsung will not be the only rival in the block soon, HTC, Lenovo and especially LG will want a huge chunk of the smartphone market!

The LG G4 also sport a new unlocking feature called, the “Knock Code.” It works differently with the security PIN and the swipe code that you may have already seen in other smartphones. The Knock Code works by tapping a couple of times on particular areas of the LG G4’s screen to wake it up from sleep. It is a more efficient way to unlock the phone and it’s much ‘cooler’ in my opinion.

Pros

• Superb camera
• Elegant leather back
• Color-rich display

Cons

• Camera launcher could be better
• No QuickCharge technology
• Jury is out on leather durability

Initial Verdict

Whatever the decision-making block did in LG for its latest G4 smartphone concept, they did it so well, because they focused on 3 things: a) great camera for photos, a colour rich display and excellent design features. It’s so much better than Apple’s iPhone 6 and HTC One M9 that it is, by far, the only one I could find worthy to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. I’m definitely getting the LG G4 when it opens up for sale next month and you should too!

If you happen to be an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch user and you have been wanting to be able to use the AllCast casting app on your mobile Apple device, your wait is finally over. The AllCast local media streaming service is now available on iOS and all mobile Apple operating system users can now beam pictures, music and video content from any of their Apple mobile devices straight to any television screen.

Koushik Dutta is the original developer of AllCast, a service that was previously called Aircast in the past. Dutta created the AllCast service in order to make the process of sharing local files that are stored on a handset a much simpler and easier one. Apple iOS mobile device users can now perform a slideshow of their pictures in high-definition right from any HD television screen. No longer will a group of people have to crowd around a small-screened iOS gadget to try and view the pictures and videos that are saved on it.

The AllCast streaming service was first introduced by Dutta in Autumn of 2013. Back then, Google Chromecast initially blocked the service and even when the December 2013 Android version of the AllCast app was finally released, it still did not have access to the Google Chromecast dongle device.

In early 2014, AllCast was supported by Google Chromecast, which meant that its users would be able to tap into their smartphone, tablet, and/or computer content and be capable of sharing that content with any of their friends and family located anywhere in the world.

In May of 2014, an even better updated and redesigned version of the AllCast service was launched by Dutta, and this new and improved version of the service promised improved syncing with other media-streaming gadgets.

Apple iOS users had been waiting for the infamous AllCast service to come to the Apple iOS mobile platform for over a year, and as of this past Tuesday, the wait is finally over.

A lawsuit has been filed against Apple Inc. that accuses the company of misrepresenting the actual amount of storage space available on its iPhone, iPod and iPad devices. The lawsuit was filed in the state of California’s northern district on Tuesday, December 30, 2014 by two Miami residents.

Christopher Endara and Paul Orshan are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The two Apple customers are claiming in their lawsuit that Apple’s most recent operating system used on its mobile devices, iOS , takes up nearly 23.1% of the memory available on some Apple devices.

The papers that were filed in support of the lawsuit also noted that when iOS 7 users attempt to upgrade their devices to the Apple’s latest updated operating system, iOS 8, it causes them to lose anywhere up to 1.3 GB of their device’s memory. Apple does not disclose any of this information to its customers.

The legal action also asserts that the iOS 8 takes up enough memory on the Apple devices that it can cause its users to run out of storage space and when these devices get close to running out of storage space, advertisements for the Apple’s iCloud storage system, which is a fee-based system, automatically begin showing up on the devices. The plaintiffs allege that this overall set-up is Apple’s underhanded way of attempting to force its customers to sign up for the paid iCloud service.

The attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Jonas Mann claimed in a written court filing that the reality is that the actual amount of device storage space available to the end users is nothing even close to the amount advertised by the company. He asserts that the discrepancy is “substantial” (up to about 23%) and “beyond any possible reasonable expectation.”

Also included in the plaintiff’s complaint was the mentioning of the fact that Apple’s devices do not support memory card usage, a feature that would increase the storage capacity, and a feature that is offered by a number of rival smartphone companies.

The plaintiffs added that an iPhone 6 Plus with 16 GB of storage can actually only hold about 12.7 gigabytes of user data, which is 21% less than the advertised 16 GB. The pair is apparently suing Apple under California’s unfair competition and false advertisement laws. They are hoping to have the lawsuit fall under a class action and they’re seeking millions of dollars in damages for all users of Apple devices that have been victims of the “storage squeeze.”

Smartwatches connect with Android smartphones through a six-digit PIN to secure a private channel of data flow through Bluetooth. A hacker can attempt to find the correct PIN out of the one million possible keys through sophisticated software, intercepting the secure Bluetooth connection.

Bitdefender, a Romanian-based security firm, had researchers test out the concept. A Google Nexus 4 -running a preview of Android L- was paired with a Samsung Gear Live smart watch. The PIN number securing the Bluetooth connection was easily brute forced with the help of readily available hacking tools, after which all data flowing through the two devices was monitored.

Security engineers have not been surprised by these results as they’ve always known that a million possible passkeys is not enough to stop a determined hacker from finding the right number. However, this research has
brought important information to light at the right time.

Wearables and smart watches are on the brink of a market explosion. Manufacturers should realise this drawback and cover this loophole, creating a more secure connection before smart devices become widespread.

Some of the clear solutions to this problem might come at the cost of user convenience. Users would resent manually typing a password every time before pairing on the tiny screen of the smart device. NFC can be integrated to transmit a PIN code during pairing but, that comes at a monetary cost raising the devices’ retail price.

Another possible solution is to make the Bluetooth connection stronger by adding a second layer of encryption integrated within the phone and smartwatch.

Namely, the company is searching for technical engineers in order to “create high performance apps that integrate with Virtual Reality systems,” regarding to the posting, as noticed by 9to5Mac.

Apple announced: “We are looking for a software engineer to develop UI and applications to create next generation software experiences. The individual must be able to take participate in collaborative and iterative UI design through the implementation phases & complete performance user experience code for product delivery.”

Whether or not this suggest that Apple is looking to develop its individual VR accessory for iOS and Mac OS X products, or perhaps is trying to incorporate experiences for other systems, especially those suitable with iOS devices, stays to be revealed.

But we should keep in mind that Virtual Reality is a new technology and there is a lot of space for development, and other companies like Samsung and Sony are making progress in this area, so it seems reasonable that Apple might at least get a foot in.
Apple is very careful not to disclose anything about their upcoming plans and projects so we will probably not get significant information, if anything, until they are ready for it.

A single job posting for a position of a Virtual Reality Engineer will of course not create a Virtual Reality Program, although it is an indication that Apple is looking forward to that course. The following year, Apple is going to step into the wearables market launching the Apple Watch. The results of this project will certainly produce some influence if they will step in to one more new market, the Virtual Reality, or not.
Apple is usually an old fashion company when it comes to stepping straight into new market sectors which means that this single job posting might not really grow into anything immediately.

On Friday last week, Apple and its advertising partners officially announced that the iAd network is now accepting “programmatic” mobile advertisement purchases, in a change that brings Apple in-line with other ad services.

The launch was first announced, unofficially, when Apple’s plan to start automated iAds was leaked by Rubicon Project, one if its partners, who accidentally published a press release ahead of schedule. On Friday, the new advertising system’s plans and additional partners were officially debuted.

Ad tech companies partnering with Apple include Rubicon Project, AdRoll, MediaMath, and The Trade Desk. Apple’s iAd Workbench will also be integrating with these platforms to help allow develop targeted, cross-device advertising campaigns according to iPhone and iPad users.

To facilitate advertisers in buying audiences, the iAd inventory will be bought and sold in an open marketplace. In line with a process prelavent with other advertising networks, advertisers will bid on placements enabled through programmatic buying in auctions.

Adroll has said in its announcement that through “Apple’s proprietary, privacy minded consumer data sets gleaned through iTunes“, customers will be able to run their campaigns. Using third-party participating platforms, advertisers will be able to mange iAds, retrieve analytics, as well as, create and update their campaigns.

“AdRoll has a long history of being first to market with new inventory sources and innovative functionality. We’re excited to bring the power, precision and scale of programmatic buying to a high-quality, in-demand inventory source,” said AdRoll President and CMO Adam Berke. “AdRoll is committed to bringing developers and advertisers of all sizes cross-device solutions for a world gone mobile.”

COO of MediaMath, Ari Buchalter, has said, “With marketing budgets rapidly shifting towards programmatic, and the continued rapid growth of mobile, iAd brings a powerful combination of global scale, unique & rich data, and a high-quality user experience, allowing our clients to engage with their target consumers across an unprecedented range of apps and devices.”

In its press release, MediaMath has said that their “clients will also benefit from streamlined campaign setup & management, a wide range of reporting including metrics from tap-through rates to video completes, simplified billing, and early access to new features and functionality.” L.L. bean is one of the first iAd clients.